VA Telehealth

TELEHEALTH

Increases Access to Care

Bad weather, distance and the cost of gas can make it difficult for Veterans, especially those who live in rural areas, to get to VA medical centers to receive the care they need. Access to care has greatly improved with Telehealth. This uses medical devices, video conferencing and a variety of other technologies that allow Veterans to receive certain services in their homes and at community-based outpatient clinics.

VA offers different forms of Telehealth to make it easier for Veterans to get the right care in the right place at the right time.

HOME TELEHEALTH allows Veterans to work with a registered nurse care coordinator to manage their health needs right from their homes. VA provides a messaging device, such as Health Buddy, that a Veteran uses to send health information through a land line telephone to the care coordinator. He or she monitors this information daily and discusses it with the Veteran's primary doctor to prescribe treatment as needed. The care coordinator provides care and support to the Veteran and to caregivers. Finding and treating problems early helps prevent them from turning into more serious problems and helps prevent the need to be hospitalized.

VA is a world leader in home Telehealth technologies and currently provides care to over 40,000 patients, which is projected to expand to 75,000 by the end of 2011. For VA Central California Health Care Center alone, home Telehealth has increased its enrollment 150 percent in the last year.

The goal of Telehealth is "to make the home into the preferred place of primary care, when it is appropriate to do so," said Dr. Adam Darkins, Chief Consultant of Care Coordination Services at the VA.

TELEMENTAL health allows Veterans to make an appointment at the nearest clinic to talk to and see a mental health care provider using video Teleconferencing. Veterans and mental health care providers communicate through small all-in-one VTEL units or larger TV monitors equipped with cameras similar to webcams or Skype. All appointments are live time.

The video Teleconferencing lines are encrypted and secure. Nothing is recorded. No one else can hear or see the counseling session.

"I like VTEL," said one Veteran in Sonora. "It's really convenient because I had to travel two hours to see the nearest psychiatrist. This is much nicer and it's only ten minutes from my house. I would recommend it to other people. It's nice, convenient and easy."

Other forms of clinical video technology include Teleneurology and Telemove clinics.

STORE-AND-FORWARD TELEHEALTH gets and stores clinical data and/or images and sends them to another site for expert evaluation. An example of this is Teleretinal Imaging. Early in 2010, VA Palo Alto Health Care System found out that 658 Veterans living in Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties needed yearly retinal (eye) screenings to ensure that they did not have diabetic retinopathy, which can cause blindness. Veterans can now get immediate appointments for diabetic eye screenings and prompt and thorough care at Sonora Clinic instead of having to travel two or more hours to Livermore. This has reduced travel time for some Veterans by 85 percent. After enrolling in this clinic, one Veteran found out that he had diabetes! The new Teleretinal Clinic has doubled the number of Teleretinal diabetic eye screening clinic sites in the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

TELEDERMATOLOGY allows Veterans to get skin care without having to travel to a dermatology clinic. Digital pictures are taken of skin problems and sent to a skin specialist (dermatologist) for diagnosis. He or she sends a report with treatment advice to the Veteran's primary care doctor.

TELEHEALTH is not just about technology. It is about connecting Veterans and caregivers with health care providers to receive high quality care at home and local facilities. Veterans are able to spend more time with their families and become more empowered in their care.

Find out more about Telehealth from your VA health care provider and from VA's Office of Telehealth Services at www.telehealth.va.gov.